There’s so much to read each week I find I, even with the help of various blogs and websites, can’t keep up. I’ve decided then to start a weekly digest of interesting headlines and topics, both for my own use but also for industry practitioners and interested fans. I’ve also felt the need to have some kind of regular feature on here, instead of the randomness I have now. We’ll see if I can keep it up.

I’m still experimenting with format and length, so let me know if you have any suggestions. Right now I’m thinking Thursday-to-Thursday.

•CNET’s Simple Introduction to Internet TV (CNET): Great for anyone who’s wondering, “why are we talking about web TV again?” I remember as an undergrad I worked for a trade group trying to develop industry standards for “interactive TV.” That was 2003, and it was a mess. Now we’re back again! But Google TV doesn’t look half bad.

•Vimeo Film Festival brings DJ Spooky, Larry Lessig, David Lynch and others (Streaming Media): I just think Vimeo’s celeb guests are cool people. Way to curate.

Web Series:

•CollegeHumor Expands Web Series Slate, including Very-Missed Very Mary Kate; signaling move from “viral one-offs” to web series (Tubefilter; Wall Street Journal – All Things D): I loved Very Mary Kate, but was afraid it’d become just a viral video sensation when Elaine Carroll, whom I interviewed a few months ago for the Wall Street Journal, stopped posting. Good to hear it’s coming back.

•IAWTV (Interactive Academy of Web Television) Opens Enrollment (Tubefilter): I became a member right before this announcement, and I’m glad it’s opening up. Join!

•LXD Season 2 Coming; Paramount Digital looks for next LXD; and competes with Crackle (Tubefilter; C21 Media (sub); Web Series Network): Hulu and Paramount Digital’s LXD seems to have really opened up a possibility for web series. While Quarterlife seemed to close off investment, LXD is one of a growing list of series that have pleased studios (see Alloy Entertainment) and advertisers. Who knew.

•Upright Citizen’s Brigade signs with Babelgum (NewTeeVee): Babelgum does make creative choices. UCB alums are all over of the web already, so this makes perfect sense.

Research and Policy:

•Web Originals More Engaging than TV: Report (NewTeeVee; also Tubefilter): Independent producers and advertisers should get excited about studies like this. Coupled with other studies about online ad recall vs. TV and web video demographics, there’s a small but significant literature developing in support of web production and distribution.

•Current net neutrality battle over “specialized services” (hi-volume) and wireless; minorities side with corporations (National Journal, Broadcasting and Cable 1, 2, 3): Net neutrality was big this week, but mostly focused on a fairly specific issue of “specialized services,” which advocacy groups fear might be the first loophole for companies looking to skirt net neutrality. In other news, Google once again affirms it’s not evil.

• Evaluating Kickstarter (Televisual): I look at how successful web series creators are at raising money through crowdfunding.

•Networks counting viewers across platforms, but takes time and is less valuable to advertisers. (New York Mag): Cool graphs from New York Mag. It turns out digital culture is making business slower, not fast. 30 years ago, shows lived and died through overnight ratings, now it takes a month apparently to get a glimpse of a series’ audience. This will speed up — especially with Nielsen counting online viewers — but will take time.

Share This Article

About The Author

Aymar Jean Christian is assistant professor of communication at Northwestern University. He writes about media and society for a number of publications. For more information, click the "About" tab at the top of the page.